in an r t exclusive interview the syrian president says he won't step down and warns foreign intervention will spark a global disaster. and other news anti austerity protests in athens lead to unprecedented violence as parliament approves a new set of cuts in a bid to keep greece solvent and in the eurozone. also president hu jintao calls on china's new leaders to turn the country into a major naval force that's beijing begins a once in a decade communist power transfer.

live from our studios in central moscow you're watching r t with me and he said now it's good to have you with us straight to our top story an r.t.s. game exclusive access to the syrian president who continues to run the country from damascus in defiance of foreign calls to step down but slammed those calls from abroad for him to go and warned against outside intervention in syria well now joined by our chief sophie shevardnadze who interviewed the embattled leader in the capital just days ago really it will air very soon on r t. hi what's going to be back what were your first impressions of. of of us thought as a person and as a president ok as i was a person who had a chance to speak about fifteen minutes before the interview very educated very down to and earth definitely not. contrary to what people like people pray him in the media. very well informed you'll be surprised to know i q

you begin to sense from the a.b.c. barbara walters interview when she was asking questions that he didn't really know what she was talking about because she would tell him precise things and he was like i don't know that i don't know that he knows everything i think maybe that injury actually had an impact on him he's very well informed he feels like i think that this whole thing that's happening is like a cancer that either he has to beat or he has to die of a car but there is no other way out when we talk about western leaders telling him to step down i mean it kind of sounds ridiculous because he really has nowhere to go like even though he were to step down where would he go and we asked him that interview so we can really actually listen to it to a piece of the also the interview so if we speak to him about the push for foreign intervention. i think the prize will be from vision and it's going. to be more than the whole world came before because if you have

a problem if you drop this loss of. ability in the region and coexistence it through it will have a domino or fate but if it weren't for. the pacific. you know because you know. i don't think. it's going. to go but you do so nobody came here what's next. all right well sophie he's so calm from that piece that we saw just a little piece of an interview which i understand you spent. well we had twenty six minutes sharp and that was something that we wrote in a contract because once again after the a.b.c. barbara walters interview they got really freaked out about the fact that they require why half hours and then on the air it was something forty minutes and in their opinion it was completely distorted so after that day every journalist that goes there even the german guy who interviewed

a couple months ago had to sign this contract that we signed. so it's either we could have had one hour with him but then the press secretary and me we had to sit down in the syrian television and it kind of compromise what stays or goes or we could have the exact time of the interview that we would put on the air and then we would sign a contract saying that that would air on our unedited so we went for twenty six minutes sharp so we basically recorded as life did you feel like you were sitting in speaking to a man who was losing power losing control of his country i think is very well aware that he definitely isn't in a position in which he was like two years ago and a half ago or he's not crazy understand like he's still going about his business i think it's more about the fact that he knows that he has no choice he has made a choice of having no choice and. he has no other way than to fight till the end and i believe it's not about staying in power for him and i do believe in not about . for his family because his kids still go to public school in damascus and his

wife is still there and he told me you know i'm a younger man i love sports i love life i could have just picked up and left like been a leader for example you know this is now khadafy for example and the thing that really marked me the most is how really how much more complicated situation inside syria from what we see in the media because i talk to people yes the country is divided and even the people who didn't like assad before this conflict started are now so scared that fundamentalists will come to power fundamentalists who are fighting on the side of the free syrian army and syrian people are not about that and this is like the only. secular that had a lot of different religious groups always living in peace with each other whether it's sunni or shia. or all the way or christians so they're really scared that if the army will fall apart and then you know you'd have the sixth remiss muslims coming to them and asking them to basically be just like them and we actually saw

a twitter for the. free syrian army and they had the targets the people that they want to target to kill for example which is really a famous actor that got killed today were there and he got killed because he said that you know terrorists isn't going to scare me any kids to see were in flak he didn't say anything about assad so they had him as if like a check so this one is done and then the other famous actor came out on the funeral saying that you know today all of us are the actor who passed away and still twitter and their twitter right away he's picture appears saying well you're next or something like that basically they're targeting also famous people who don't want fundamental fundamentalists in power so it's not just about assad i think people feel like whether he goes or stays. it's only can get worse if it goes because it will get i mean the terror attacks will continue and the fundamentalists will come to power so they're very scared of that just briefly we talked right before you went sophia and you were not exactly thrilled about going to be honest i

mean it's a dangerous place scared you were going to your reporter and i'm not used to going to see as a human being in damascus a lot of people not reporting from there what was it like for you to be there i think when we when we arrived that that's when the escalation started because from what i understand terrorist attacks in damascus will take place maybe every two weeks like two or three times and there escalating yeah and then we arrived and every day that we were there were there for three and a half days we had to do three terrorist attacks for example i dare to go into town and walk around the market talk to people i haven't bought in to buy and it was around two o'clock and after. so you could see all this elementary school kids that flood it those little streets where the market is and they were just so beautiful with their like blue shirts and taking pictures of them and then we went home and it turns out right at that moment when i was taking photos of the kids. like maybe ten minutes away from where i was taking pictures an explosion went on and eleven

kids just like that died so when you walk in those streets it doesn't really phase you that you could be targeted or die in a terrorist attack any time because that really. puts you in a state of cognitive dissonance because someone had live goes on because people really have no choice i mean they have nowhere to go no one gives them business even if they wanted to do they couldn't so it's business as usual i mean i would hear bombings mortar shelling. throughout the day and night and i was very scared because i'm not used to the sound you know you would have to be suicide but then you know we had this beautiful bride and groom in the hallway of our hotel having their wedding as the mortar shells were going on so it's amazing really how life does go on so if you're sort of nuns around her experience in damascus an interview with president bashar also of course will air here in our on friday and throughout the weekend for you.

if you. didn't are to your exclusive. dot com. a new package of billions of euros in cuts and austerity measures squeeze through the greek part of the meant to be met by violent protest outside frustration over the disintegrating economy led to street battles between firebomb wielding demonstrators and riot police armed with tear gas peter all over has the latest from after. all the good people of continue to bed there on your. they see on fail story is being placed upon them by the government in this day evening here in athens we saw those tensions boil over into a nother round of violence a crowd of around one hundred thousand people had gathered here it's just in front of the building and. very quickly we saw police and protesters fights running

battles through the square itself in the streets surrounding it. tails thrown rocks throwing the police responding with flash bang grenades and of course the tear gas it's become so synonymous with the violent demonstrations and violent clashes we've see in athens in recent times. over one hundred just over one hundred people were detained by police the majority of those were released straightaway five people have been arrested involved in last night's violence and also hearing that there were some injuries on both sides both the protesters and to the police well the reason that this took place on wednesday evening was because the pall of and just behind me was voting on the latest round of austerity measures now that passed that has been written into greek lloyd by the soonest of majorities one hundred fifty three m.p.'s voting yes one hundred twenty eight saying no eighteen

stanchions now what that means for the greek people is they will have to point five billion euros worth of savings forced upon them now the savings will take before raising the retirement age going to see some people seeing as much as fifteen percent cut from their pensions they'll also be cut to wages both in the public sector and the minimum wage is well being cut and it's also going to be new laws that will make it easier for employers to fire employees all of this of course causing great on. greece they say that this is being dictated to them because this team point five billion euros worth of savings was demanded of greece its three main creditors the so-called troika and the reason they demanded that the reason it greece is push this through is because if they didn't they were told they wouldn't get the next role and the bailout of greece doesn't get the money essentially it's

out of the eurozone and it faces an incredibly painful the fault. of some other world news for you this hour at least eighteen people have been killed in three separate bomb attacks in afghanistan the deadliest blast was in the southern helmand province when a minibus hit a roadside bomb killing ten civilians including four women and two children a second attack killed three policemen and wounded two others in the southern city of kandahar and in the east a military convoy struck a landmine killing five local troops. a prominent bahraini human rights activists is back in court today hoping to appeal his three year prison sentence rajab is now below i should say result is serving time for tweeting and participating in illegal gatherings the countries out there and authorities have recently banned all time and strange and after nearly two years of clashes between police and pro-forma campaigners violence in bahrain has so far killed up to eighty

people the thousands being arrested provoking a wave of criticism from the rights groups across the globe. in just a few minutes here on r.t. heads clash over billions we look at how proposal for the european union's new budget is deepening the cracks in london for the relations. and china's communist party begins a weeklong change of leadership amid calls to root out corruption and make the state a major power on the high seas. recently protests and demonstrations of any kind were banned until further notice and by crane a curfew as in you can't go out of your home when the government doesn't want you to has already been in effect in the country since two thousand and eleven many of

the protests which are now totally forbidden were related to members of the public demanding the release of political prisoners four people were also recently arrested for insulting the king over twitter wow a middle eastern country that has totally shut down any form of protest and hunts you down if you tweet about the leadership sounds pretty undemocratic to me i bet nato is already fueling up ready to take action some freedom into warmer right well not really if nato really cared about spreading democracy you'd think they'd be more consistent with their targets but that's just my opinion. excuse me can i speak with you sir let me then used. my son died in a gun don't agree you don't agree with. my son isn't isn't it mary and i don't know would it be our greatest crime to refuse there's a. new country. you

find in so many you. meet the son's death. here with r t live from moscow a major transfer of power has begun in china the country is set to appoint its new

top leaders next week as part of the communist party congress which is now under way president hu jintao has called on the nation to fight corruption improve its military and keep the economy growing beijing based journalist henry morton reports . president hu jintao begins to hand over the reins of power to the next generation of chinese leaders president xi jinping widely expected to become the next head of state now president hu he's going to stand down as general secretary at the end of this week paving the way as i say for she to take over as general secretary and then as head of states in march two thousand and thirteen reform has been a buzzword around this congress it's been mentioned a lot in state media in the build up to you this week and experts and analysts and analysts saying that china if it wants to continue its economic growth its economic engine really needs to start implementing long store reforms you speak to people on

the streets that are extremely concerned about the economy as well and people around the world generally will also be watching what the new leadership is doing here in china of course a growing economic power is now the second biggest economy in the world and also turning into something more of a world superpower as lucy castro now reports. lighting the flame on the international stage building to new heights on this world. and throwing beyond its limits whether it outer space the arctic outer continental shelf or on your local store shelves. china is making its ambitions known let's see this is made in china . made in china china or cheaper than on the goods have translated into massive profits for china as well as criticism you know this comes amid growing concern that china is using its economic clout for political leverage. different.

china is a very promising country i'm sure you pointed your top with your i say twenty try less than five the i.m.f. says china could surpass the us economically in real terms by twenty sixteen it may not help the countless chinese who live in poverty but it sure makes rivals nervous china's economic clout has grown it is now the second largest economy in the world it's the second largest manufacturing exporter in the rimini the trainees currency is playing an increasingly important role in the world economy so there is a shift in relative economic might in the world that might has been threatened by the economic slowdown and it will be up to china's new leaders to try to reverse the trend for now they seem to be getting their way china is inching into europe to snap up ailing businesses this french vineyard is just one of the casualties. with these people they come here and leave by learned just like to buy

it but castle or jewelry on iran u.s. sanctions against oil trading with the islamic republic don't apply when you're america's largest banker. in africa china is using cash to buy clout beating western rivals in the race to exploit the continent's vast resources in its efforts to buy influence through investments have been met with an intense public backlash and countries like pakistan and building infrastructure instead of military bases has made china the preferred superpower among locals. born into fear. ok. other countries that does not like. it or that like america. still it has been abandoned its military the country's new leaders are expected to continue to pour billions into its defense budget the second largest in the world this may worry pentagon planners and beijing's asian neighbors but so far china's

economic might has proven more powerful than the sword the other two nations which are fighting in their words what is america what is china so america is using which is water and that is it out of losses and china is using up peacefully and civilized it is no loss and if the strategy is working why change it chinese leaders understand the even portions of soft power. and yet understand you come. to some extent and it's made good. to be studied if not to be followed completely for now a growing red dragon means that china's version of a new world order is here to stay you seek out r.t. moscow was still a decade the ruling party gathers to select the next generation. on

the car to the door to dot com. london remains worlds apart from the paymaster on the debated seven year budget that's after crunch downing street talks with his german counterpart the british prime minister reaffirmed he would not accept any proposed hike can spend it here's our first with a deeper look at britain's widening rift with europe and the support for split at home. the prime minister david cameron and german chancellor angela merkel are probably feeling pretty food today after the downing street dinner last night on the may. news mushroom and spinach tart venison finished off with a traditional german pitting beneath the smiles and the friendly handshake you can imagine that probably have been somewhat awkward in a conversation in the surface of it the german chancellor is here to discuss with the prime minister the upcoming budget meeting that will be taking place in brussels but of course there are

a much bigger issue at stake most importantly the discussion about britain's position within the european union itself now the end of the meeting both sides has said that they were on the same end of the spectrum but is that really the story because of course in recent weeks here in britain we've seen the talk of a possible referendum in or around referendum or whether britain should remain within the european union really kicking up again you wouldn't have been the one to want to break that needs to anglo american she doesn't look like a woman who suffers food gladly unfortunately the prime minister has it like the strongest leader in recent weeks we feel that humiliating defeat in the house of commons with tory backbenchers calling for real term cuts to the budget now we know when these meetings take place britain is going to be asked to contribute even more to the top there is going to be some tough negotiating taking place what you have

here at the moment very much is a big perception problem when it comes to the european union at a time of austerity in the midst of a double dip recession many british people feel that for the european union to be asking for even more money is simply on reasonable and you seen a very very strong reaction to that here so in the coming weeks ahead of that meeting the topic of britain's role within the european union itself is very much going to be on the top of the menu. on archie dot com right now taking responsibility suspected whistleblower bradley manning might plead guilty. because supplying wiki leaks was classified material go online to find out conditions are a possible deal. also work from brussels are on guard artists about to be candid and new record at a christie's sale in new york on to our web site and find out how much it made.

while barack obama celebrates his presidential victory there is a look warm reaction from washington's top ally in the mideast israelis openly backed obama's rival mitt romney during the campaign and many are disappointed at the democrats' re-election it could lead to an unprecedented rift in u.s. israeli relations as artie's clear reports. from this. to this it was never a secret who the israeli prime minister wanted in the white house the often public spats between his government and the obama administration of a palestinian peace talks and iran's nuclear program did nothing to advance american israeli relations and only a mosque the two leaders personal dislike for each other. both want to succeed they need to cooperate you know succeed and i think it's not it's

not i mean some of the real challenge will not only to fix the relationship but he has some fixing to do relations between the two countries are at an all time low and most of his radio americans were also hedging their bets on the republican candidate of the roughly eighty thousand voters from israel four in five voted for me these few got up early to watch the results obama can be harsh because this truth is real because he doesn't have to worry about reelection anymore and the time we're all has to do are to obama's toes in many aspects because israel is dependent on america for our allies and for. supports the war in the international arena the pressing issue now is what does a bomb is victory mean for israel's foreign policy after all netanyahu saw in one knee and i someone he agreed with on most issues including what to him is the most urgent stopping iran's nuclear program netanyahu is trying to convince the world to strike iran

a position that until now obama has not supported the question is will israel go it alone in order to destroy it completely destroy iran's nuclear weapons capability i think you need. many many strikes over an extended period of time only one country in the world that is capable of doing it and i don't think they will do it this is the united states of america and without he was backing netanyahu is in a corner with the risk to strike back down from his warmongering neither position it puts him in a good light netanyahu took a gamble by so openly favoring romney welcoming him in israel during the election campaign and appearing in a public and a campaign ads that one of the dice could now backfire as these radio elections quickly approach and that in your himself will be fighting for another term in office. or r.t. to sell him. on the way a look at u.s.

military's kill your work program policy in a special report stay with our team. was . i was. in the middle of russia's no way from civilization and in a three hour helicopter train from the nearest village. these still one family have been living here for a long time in tents made of reindeer skins. so

. lodging runs you need to signal and then it's they also grew up in the to draw but left it at the age of six and never returned they now live in the seat in a pumpkin bending but still remember that they are regions. was planted here as a dancing teacher. was. next to his den says he tells the stories about his motherland. laws in europe to never has a one thousand strong reindeer had when the enemy only saw the light can and most around you it is gather the tens and move to another pole sure they travel hundreds

of kilometers in winter women and children for them. but the two families have less of a chance to come across each other they belong to different worlds even though there's sometimes a similar. they're not made everybody that made the really. seriously doubt he had. killed her.